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He huffs again, then says, “Fine. I was seeing you both at the same time, and I lied about it.”

Ellie waits a moment before prompting him. “And? Who else were you seeing?”

“No one.”

“Liar.” I shake my head. “Ellie?”

Ellie gives me a nod. Then, before we can change our minds, we charge him.

Jax mutters a startled “What the fuck!” as I grab his free arm and wrestle it down behind him. Ellie pats at his pants pockets, feeling for his phone. The old office chair protests, squeaking loudly.

“Ellie!” I groan, struggling to keep Jax’s free arm pinned to his side.

“Almost there,” she grunts. Finally, she wriggles it free from his pocket and takes a step back, panting. I release Jax, who swipes at us with his free hand, nearly knocking the chair off balance.

“Give it back,” he growls.

Ellie unlocks his phone and shows the screen to him, scrolling past a long line of messages. “Are all these women aware that you’re seeing other people? Or did you tell them the same things you told us?”

“Didkarmabring you all together, too?” I mock, and Ellie snickers.

“How did you know my passcode?” His eyes widen in confusion, then realization slowly dawns. “It was you. Both of you, the whole time!”

Ellie and I smirk at each other, watching as he pieces the puzzle together.

“The underwear and condoms in my truck... the cheese in my gym bag... the fake mouse! All that shit you did in my house! Those weird shortcuts in my phone, the scrambled contacts... What the fuck?”

Ellie lowers her face to Matt’s level, inching closer as she speaks. “Admit it. You’re playing all these women, aren’t you? Feeding them the same bullshit, having crafted it over years and years of fuckboyery, honing your skills with systematic playboydom.”

Ellie’s speech gives me chills; she has natural villainess vibes to her.

“Fine,” Matt grits out through clenched teeth, leaning forward so close their noses almost touch. “I have multiple women on the go at all times. I do and say whatever I need to, to get them in my bed and keep them there. Women who are committed fuck different; they got skin in the game, and it shows.”

Ellie and I share a disgusted grimace.

“And when I get sick of them,” Jax continues, a sardonic smile on his face, “I ghost them. But you know what, that’s nothing compared to what I’ve been through. You think I’m the bad guy? Please. Women have done a thousand worse things to me over the years.”

Ellie takes a step back, shaking her head.

“That’s no excuse,” I say. “Relationships are about honesty.”

He rolls his eyes. “Come on. Like you’ve been one hundred percent honest with every person you’ve been with.”

I think for a moment, deflating. He’s right. I haven’t been my most honest self, either. I glance at Ellie, who seems to be feeling the same way. We turn our attention back to him.

“That’s different,” Ellie says.

“How is it different?” He tuts at her. “You looked at me and saw what you wanted to see, didn’t you? And it took me all of about five seconds for me to realize you wouldn’t like the real me at all, and then five more seconds to mould myself into the guy you wished I was. You had no interest in knowing who I really was. I was a fantasy to you, and that’s it.”

“That’s not true, I—”

“And you,” Jax says, turning his attention to me. “I had you figured out even faster. You were insecure in high school, and you’re insecure now. All you wanted was to prove you were hot enough to bang the guy you always wanted but could never have. You had no problems with me being a quick lay when it was convenient for you, but suddenly you have morals against it? You’re both such fucking hypocrites.”

I glare. “Hooking up? Fine. Exaggerating your best qualities on a date? Okay. But you were a completely different person with her than you were with me. Ellie deserved better than that. And I did, too. We would have been fine with an arrangement of casual sex if you’d been honest and up front, but you had to raise the bar, didn’t you? Get us invested, keep us coming back. I never wanted to be ‘the other woman.’ You’d planned a whole life with Ellie, for fuck’s sake. And when I specifically asked you if you were seeing anyone else so I could make an informed decision, you dodged the question, lying by omission because you knew I wouldn’t be okay with it. You didn’t care about us as people at all, as human beings. You just saw us as something for you to conquer. Tell me that’s not true.”

Jax bites his lip, not denying anything. “Fine. You’re right. You happy?”

“That’s what I thought.” I step back, my chest rising and falling rapidly with anger. “Ellie? Show him the footage.”